Gray named Denton interim town manager

Monday

Jul 22, 2013 at 5:16 PM

A familiar face will soon be seen around Denton Town Hall.

BY SHARON MYERSThe Dispatch

A familiar face will soon be seen around Denton Town Hall. Mayor Scott Morris announced Monday that the Denton Town Board of Commissioners has appointed former Lexington City Manager John Gray as part-time, interim town manager beginning the first week of August. Gray retired from the City of Lexington six months ago after 25 years."I am looking forward to starting this new position," Gray said. "I like the town, and have known many of the past mayors, including Scott. We have always had good a relationship and have had some good meetings with the board of commissioners." Morris said he is pleased with the decision and says these past relationships can only be a positive thing."I worked with him for several years and he has always been very helpful," Morris said. "He will be a great resource for Denton through his extensive knowledge of city management and his numerous connections."Gray has been hired as a 20 hours per week independent contractor for a six-month period, instead of being paid as a town employee. This will allow the town to save from paying benefits, such as health insurance and retirement. The professional services agreement between the Town of Denton and Gray will reviewed for extension or other changes by the Town Board at the end of the six-month period.Morris said Gray has the right blend of knowledge, skills and experience to assist the citizens, the town board and staff in planning, goal-setting and implementing desired town improvements. Morris identified the ongoing water and sewage projects as the highest priority on the list of projects."John is a good listener, a professional with a lot of experience who knows how to work with people and we believe can help us get things done, which is what our board feels like we need right now," said Morris. The mayor said that the decision to hire Gray on a part-time basis came about during the time they were reviewing full-time applicants for the position. Morris said he initially approached Gray a few months ago about contracting with him to oversee several capital improvement projects, but the discussion changed to a different path."The board had been discussing whether we needed a full-time manager and somehow John's name was brought up," said Morris. Gray had several face-to-face meetings with the commissioners and prepared a proposal, at their request, which was accepted. For now the town council has postponed reviewing the full-time applicants until they decide whether to reduce the description of the position to a part-time basis. "It's a trial period to see if we can make it work part-time," Morris said. "And who else would be better to see if it could be done."Gray said that he was not necessarily interested in returning to town management, but sometime things fall into place."Sometimes you don't plan things, they just happen," Gray said. "Denton didn't plan on having a vacancy and I was just discussing overseeing a few projects for them. After a few meetings, it just turned out this way."Gray says that his main focus will be to assist the board to establish a list of goals and to make sure those projects stay on track."I want to make sure that we are all on the same page as far as what we want to accomplish," Gray said.Gray, a Ledford High School graduate, received his degree in urban planning and political science and East Carolina University and completed a 170-hour Municipal Administration course at the University of North Carolina — Chapel Hill's Institute of Government. He spent more than 12 years with Davidson County government, rising from planner to director of planning, then assistant county manager and acting county manager before being hired in 1987 by the City of Lexington as planning director. After 10 years in that capacity, Gray became the assistant city manager and finally in 2002 he became the city manager. Gray says the he is perfectly fine with whatever may come after the six-month period, whether it be offering him the job or going in another direction. "I want whatever is best for the town, whatever that may happen to be," said Gray.Sharon Myers can be reached at 249-3981, ext, 228 or at sharon.myers@the-dispatch.com.